Rant - looking for a travel trailer

johnsoax wrote:

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
I'll follow up that I feel your pain and add that a 1/2 ton truck really doesn't solve the problem. Since I would rather downsize to a 4x4 SUV (4 Runner, Xtera, etc) than drive an F-250 every day, I've decided I'll stick our pop-up for regular camping and rent a Class C for summer vacation. When I get closer to retirement, I'll buy a Class C or A.

Yeah, I'm not interested in driving a pickup truck.

The RV industry can continue to ignore the trend that is happening in vehicle size if they want. I can't tell you how many people are buying used popup campers now because 1. TT are too heavy for most people's vehicles and it is awesome to be told that in addition to the 30k you were willing to drop on a camper, you now have to drop another 15-20 for a different tow vehicle, and 2. New popups cost the same as a travel trailer.

So forgive my ignorance here, as I am new to the whole TT world myself. You can most certainly find what you are looking for it will just take a bit of work, and you may need to buy used. I drive a Dodge Durango that has a max tow capacity of 6200 lbs and a tongue weight of 620 lbs. I am using it to tow a 1994 starcraft 25CK. This has a master bedroom(ok the bed is not a queen but a full size), and has bunk beds in the back, a couch that folds out into a bed, and the table turns into a bed. This will sleep 6-8 with all the beds. The trailer weighs approx. 4100 lbs dry, with a tongue weight of approx. 450-500 lbs(I need to weigh it to get the exact weight). Now I have not been on any long trips with it yet, as I just purchased it this year, but will be taking it up to the white mountains in NH the first week of July. Other than needing to buy a transmission cooler, I have had to make no changes to my vehicle which seats 6(or 8 if you want to put 3 in the bench 2nd and 3rd row of seats). I did a lot of research before I bought, as like yourself I didn't want to have to change vehicles to accommodate my new hobby. Unlike you, I have a factory tow kit that will handle a weight distributing hitch. I understanding not wanting to make changes, but you may just have to sacrifice a little bit to get something close to what you want.